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We've been keeping tabs on the Nokia Lumia 928 for a while, but it has never been confirmed in any official capacity until today. The Lumia 928 quietly made an appearance in a two-page advertisment spread in Vanity Fair, as well as on a simple page on the Nokia Web site. It appears that the 928 is focusing on the camera:

As expected, Verizon Wireless will be the carrier for the Lumia 928. Expect a nice, official unveiling to take place a week from today, on May 14th. We aren't expecting the internals to be too different from the Nokia Lumia 920.

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Windows Phone users have been patiently waiting for a full-fledged YouTube app, and today it has finally arrived. Replacing the glorified mobile web version of YouTube "app," the new version brings all the native Windows Phone 8 love in parity with YouTube's standard features. You can share videos to other social networks, log in to your account to access your favorites and playlists, and even do stuff like set videos, channels, and even search queries as Live Tiles on the homescreen--something unique to Windows Phone. You can grab the new Windows Phone YouTube app right now.

It looks like Verizon Wireless is set to finally offer the NokiaLumia 928, giving Verizon a flagship Windows Phone 8 device, starting next month. While no formal announcements have been made, two people familiar with the details have confirmed it. Since flagship Lumia smartphones in the US have typically been AT&T exclusives, it'll be interesting to see what the Verizon effect will have on sales. The Lumia 928 will have an aluminum enclosure rather than the polycarbonate Lumias that we're used to, with a 4.5-inch display, 8-megapixel camera, and wireless charging capabilities.

It looks like Microsoft is set to bring back the Start button in Windows 8.1, a mainstay of the Windows OS that was removed in Windows 8. According to a report from The Verge, the new Windows 8.1 Start button will not include the traditional Start button functionality, but will rather be a method of taking you back to the Start screen. In addition to the Start button making a reappearance (in name, at least,) Microsoft is also said to be including a feature that will allow users to boot directly to the desktop, bypassing the Start screen altogether.

T-Mobile is set to release the Nokia Lumia 521, powered by Windows Phone 8, sometime next month in May. The Lumia 521 sports a 4-inch display, 5 megapixel rear camera with autofocus that records 720p video, and the exclusive suite of Nokia apps like Nokia Music, Cinemagraph, Maps, Transit, HERE Drive, etc. The device will run on T-Mobile 4G (not LTE) network. T-Mobile is keeping quiet on exact pricing and availability for now for whatever reason, but the Lumia 521 won't exactly be flying off of store shelves, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding it once it lands at Walmart, Microsoft Retail Stores, and T-Mobile locations next month.

As we reported months ago, Pandora has finally come to Windows Phone 8. Even better, Windows Phone 8 users get free ad-free listening for the rest of the year, a feature that typically costs $3.99 per month, or $36 per year, known as Pandora One. A few weeks back, Pandora also announced a monthly 40-hour listening cap for free users, so this makes Pandora on Windows Phone 8 the best bang for your buck--provided you want to use a Windows Phone. One other cool feature is that Pandora integrates in with the Windows Phone Kid's Corner feature. When in Kid's Corner, Pandora doesn't show or play any explicit content. You can download it now.

The future of search, according to Microsoft, is outside of the white search bar. "Now the way for human beings to express their interest or needs goes way beyond a browser search typing in keywords," said Microsoft's Bing chief, Qi Lu. "You can use voice to have a conversation, you can use gestures to express yourself."

Moving forward, Bing will fit into all of Microsoft's products, providing information access from physical objects to expand the context of its search.

"The battle between us and Google is going to be over who can build understanding more quickly to serve people in a much more anticipatory way," says Microsoft's Adam Sohn. "Google's going to understand every entity on the planet, we're gonna understand every entity on the planet, but the question will be what do you do with that information?"

We recently reported on the Slacker Radio redesign, and the company is keeping the freshness going, debuting on the Xbox 360 today. You can download the Slacker app for free, and you've gotta be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber in the US or Canada for the privilege. You get the same overhauled color scheme, music guide, and Kinect voice controls. Head over to the Xbox Live Marketplace to grab the 116 MB download.

If you're a Windows 7 user, you'll be glad to hear that Internet Explorer 10 is now available for you. IE 10 launched alongside the release of Windows 8, so all other users have been left out in the cold until now. Why upgrade? Well, according to Microsoft, Windows 7 users can expect much-improved JavaScript performance, integrated spell-check with auto-correct, more stability, and better battery life on laptops and notebooks. Go ahead and give it a download.

Twitter has finally (finally!) released a substantial update to Twitter for Windows Phone. The new version brings the design of the app in line with what you'd find in the iOS and Android variants, with the Home, Connect, Discover, and Me tabs included in the app. Additionally, Twitter for Windows Phone includes Live Tile support, so you can pin specific Twitter accounts, lists, and searches right to your Start Screen. You can grab the update right now.